My Personal Thoughts On The Passing Of Roddy Piper

To say that today has been a sad day would be an understatement.

I became a wrestling fan – then really mostly a WWF fan – shortly before WrestleMania I in 1985 (I didn't really appreciate the NWA until the 90s when I started tape trading and getting NWA tapes from the 80s). Becoming a wrestling fan in that period really affected my life, as what I do today has its roots planted from the love of the business that started in that era. When I look back at my childhood, there were five names that made me a wrestling junkie: Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and The Ultimate Warrior – in that order, for different reasons.

I don't know why those wrestlers had such an affect on me, but I will say this: you never run into people in real life that remind you of those guys. Have you ever said, "I met someone that really reminded me of Randy Savage?" When was the last time you saw someone and thought, "that guy is just like Roddy Piper?" Sure, you see stars like Dean Ambrose or CM Punk that have traits that remind you of Piper, but in Piper, you had a personality that was so unique that it could never be duplicated.

I'm not going to write a huge post about the impact that Piper had on this business because I think it's pretty well known. I will say this though – of all the memories I have of Piper, and these are ones that stand out above most of my other wrestling memories – very few have to do with his matches. As a matter of fact, I can only name two matches of Piper's that I really liked: his WrestleMania 8 match with Bret Hart and his WrestleMania 12 clash with Goldust. My number two in wrestling history, and I've only liked two of his matches. Ever. The rest is the absolute insanity and entertainment that he brought to the business like few others in history.

Losing Piper today and looking back at his career really reminds me of what made me fall in love with the business and what I feel is lacking today. Piper, Savage, Warrior, Hogan, Andre... these guys were beyond larger than life, it was like they lived on another planet. They weren't guys you tweeted with, or that you found bickering with others on social media, these were guys that were in another dimension. Maybe a lot of that is just remembering things as a kid, but wow, these guys could command a room like no other. I still love the business, but the larger than life aspect is missing, and Piper is a testament to that.

Over the last decade, every appearance that Piper has made on television made him less and less "iconic." I hate how it's not until someone passes away that you realize how much they meant. But it is what it is, and Piper meant a hell of a lot.

Of my top five, only Hogan is still alive. I find the racist comments that he made disgusting, but at the same time, we all live in glass houses. I am not supporting Hogan's comments when I say this, but thank you Roddy, Randy, Hulk, Andre and Warrior for making pro wrestling for me such an amazing thing that is a huge part of my life today. Roddy, I love ya and I miss ya, and the affect that you had on me is immeasurable.

RIP Hot Rod.